Glastonbury 2007

Glastonbury 2007

21 July, 2008
by: Shane

After a year’s hiatus, The Glastonbury Festival descended on Worthy Farm, in all its grandeur and fury. If Thursday raised hopes of good weather, Friday cancelled that. Bunches of sunlight, passing showers and thumping downpours were the order of the day. First up, The Cribs, and learning not to put your beer on the ground, as it returns to your lips looking like a cappuccino; light mud dusting on the froth. Recent single ‘Men’s Needs’ sounded great, and despite finishing on a rant, the brothers Jarman look set to make the step up.

It’s The Automatic who really kick things off, with catchy, riff-laden numbers and energy by the bundle. Best tunes ‘Raoul’ and ‘Recover’, were quickly followed by anthem ‘Monster’, but the moment of class was their cover of Kanye West’s ‘Golddigger’. Top finish, great set.

The Magic Numbers always sound good and somehow, attract a little sun. Old Fave’s ‘Love’s a Game’, ‘Forever Lost’ and ‘Running Late’ sounded good in the afternoon, but biggest sing along was reserved for ‘Love Me Like You’.

I was disappointed in Bloc Party, being a huge fan. Taking to the stage with gusto, they should’ve been great with Kele’s unmistakable voice and crunchy guitars, but they just sounded a little flat. Too many songs from the new album, even ‘Two More Years’ and ‘Helicopter’ were missing from the set, a real shame.

Now we again fought the crowd for toilets (thank god for urinals, sorry ladies), beers, and food and hiked to the Other Stage for Canadian band Arcade Fire. Very sombre music, a large crowd and some strange sounds sent us straight back for a good spot at the Pyramid Stage (Your loss Shane! - Ed).

Artic Monkeys really are quite a phenomenon. Riding the wave of internet success, they destroyed the huge crowd with cultured, infectious rock. The rain disappeared, and anticipation filled the air before they opening with a sing along of ‘Sun Goes Down’. They whipped through tunes from both albums; ‘Fake Tales of San Francisco’, ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ and ‘Leave Before the Lights Come on’, sounding great and Dizzie Rascal reprising his role on ‘Temptation Greets You Like a Naughty Friend’. Any nerves didn’t show, particularly as Turner cheekily quipped ‘This one’s for you, Shirl’, before a great cover of ‘Diamonds are Forever’, They finished triumphantly with ‘505’ and ‘A Certain Romance’. Now was time for the hard work, all the way up the hill to the stone circle. Nothing like all those candles and drums to bring in the morning.

Saturday began slowly, until the hugely impressive Calvin Harris . With rain teeming down, this Scot took the roof off the John Peel tent. Wearing a sweater with his own face printed on it and a snotty nose (his technique to get all the girls, apparently), his dance/electro owned the time slot. Great stage presence, and infectious beats, he may not have invented disco, but has refined it in a way. ‘Acceptable in the 80’s’, was good, ‘The Girls’ even better. Time to head towards the Other Stage and a storming performance from Newcastle boys, Maximo Park . Front man Paul Smith, owner of the most elastic legs in rock, grows with every show, and the band are tighter and musically sharper. ‘Our Velocity’, ‘Graffiti’, and ‘Books From Boxes’ had the crowd wanting more as they danced in the returning rain. They left the best till last with ‘Apply Some Pressure’ and ‘Gone Missing’. Time to tighten up the weatherproof poncho and make for the East, the Jazz World Stage in fact.

John Fogerty , legendary singer/songwriter behind Credence Clearwater Revival may be over 60, but damn the boy still knows how to rock and roll. A full and vocal crowd danced and sang along to solo and CCR hits, starting with ‘Travelling Band’ and ‘Green River’, he banged out an amazing 19-song set. The band rocked, and his voice was brilliant on ‘Lookin’ out My Backdoor’, ‘Lodi’, ‘Midnight Special’ and aptly, ‘Who’ll Stop the Rain’. The only shame was hearing ‘Fortunate Sun’ and ‘Bad Moon Rising’ as we left for the main stage.

Poor Killers, depending on where you were standing, it was either the best gig ever or the worst. Apparently, noise complaints forced the sound to be turned down, really down in our location. With such a huge crowd, there was no moving once they began. Looking very glamorous and finishing the festival with style, they even had fire works! Chants of ‘Turn it up’ echoed around the mob, but the music just got through enough to keep everyone singing and dancing. Mixing the hits, new songs ‘For Reasons Unknown’, ’Bones’ and ‘Read my Mind’, were good, but just too quiet. The crowd exploded with ‘Somebody Told Me’, ‘Indie Rock & Roll’, and the legendary ‘Mr Brightside’. As always, the encore of ‘All These Things I’ve Done’, brought the night down in full voice. Just a pity we were louder than them.

Sunday, just as slow. We made it down to see The Marley Brothers present Exodus. The rain tried, but couldn’t dent the vibe the reggae put out, sons doing their fathers musical legacy real justice.

The Other Stage again for Essex upstart, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. A huge backdrop plugging the Fair Trade charity, Mr Sam Duckworth is a musician with a conscience. He didn’t ask anyone to change the world, just think about where they get their coffee from. The crowd somehow still had a voice and enjoyed ‘I-Spy’, ‘War of The Worlds’ and ‘Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager Pt 1’. A definite standout performance of the weekend, he left behind a very happy, if muddy, crowd.

The Rakes certainly got stuck in; their abrasive barrage of riffs and chords had the other stage jumping up and down in the rain and mud. Newer, more mature sounding ‘Suspicious Minds’ and ‘We Danced Together’ sounded great, but it was older tunes that really lifted things, finishing with the anthemic ’22 Grand Job’.

A quick change at camp, some tunes from Willie Mason in the Park and we were off again. We headed to the Dance Village, amongst numerous beer, toilet and other pit stops, in time for the legendary techno DJ Dave Clarke and Aussie drum and base act, Pendulum. Well, if I thought the techno was mind blowing, I’m not sure what blew during this set. Absolutely rammed, the crowd heaved as one, and watching them play real instruments intensified the spectacle. Hits ‘Slam’ and ‘Another Planet’ killed any thoughts of an early night.

Decision time now; The Who or Chemical Brothers? The crowd made the decision for us and off to the Other Stage we trudged through the mud. Good choice, as Tom and Ed served up a dance treat. Thumping off with recent ‘Did it Again’, they mixed through classics and new tunes the same. ‘Block Rockin Beats’, ‘Hey Boy, Hey Girl’, ‘Push the Button’ pumped in a continual, seamless mix from the knob twiddling geniuses. Best tunes by far were ‘Star Guitar’, ‘Electronic Battle Weapon Number 7’ and ‘Golden Path’. No encore, but the weekend is done, and no energy left for the Stone Circle tonight. Bravo and thanks to Michael and Emily Eavis, can’t wait till next year.

Shane